There is something else we need to see about how love and forgiveness work together. Unforgiveness—the lack of forgiveness—is one hindrance to prayer that Jesus mentioned.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
(Mark 11:23-25)

A lot of times people take these verses out of context and make them say something they don't say and try to make them work. But, you see, there are some conditions involved in getting Mark 11:23 and 24 to work.

Did you ever notice that many of the promises of God are conditional?

You see, the blessings of God don't just fall on us like ripe cherries off a tree. You have your part to play—your responsibility in the matter.

When Jesus tells us in Mark 11:23-24 that we can have what we say, we all rejoice and are thrilled with those truths. And we should be. But do you know that is not all Jesus said about answered prayer?

Mark 11:23 and 24 do not present the whole story on the subject of faith. For example, in Galatians 5:6, the Bible has something else to say about faith. It says that faith only works by love.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
(Gal. 5:6)

So you won't be able to get your faith to work for you if you're not walking in love and forgiveness. I don't care how many biblical confessions you make or how scriptural they are—your faith won't work without the God-kind of love.

You can make all the confessions you want, but they won't work for you unless you forgive. You can get up every morning and go through your list, take time out at noon to speak faith confessions, and even get up in the middle of the night and repeat the same confessions—and your faith still won't work for you unless you're walking in love.

You can even quote your faith confessions like that for a 100 years, but your faith just will not work in an atmosphere of unforgiveness.

You see, believing you have your petition and confessing your faith with your mouth is only part of effective faith and receiving answers to prayer. In fact, Mark 11:23 and 24 won't work without Mark 11:25: "And when ye stand praying, forgive...."

Why won't they work without Mark 11:25? Because faith won't work without love, and love forgives.

Notice that verse 25 begins with the word "and." The word "and" is a conjunction. It joins what Jesus just finished saying to what He's about to say.

Notice what Jesus had just said in Mark 11:24: "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray...." Jesus is talking about prayer. And He is talking about how to make your faith effectual.

In verse 25, Jesus said, "When ye stand praying, if ye have ought against any, forgive." When you pray—forgive.

Why did Jesus say that? Because Jesus knows that if we have an air of unforgiveness about us, our prayers wouldn't be effectual. Faith only works by love (Gal. 5:6). Love forgives because God is love, and God forgives.

Now if Jesus had just said, "When you stand praying, you'll have your petition," we'd all have it made. But He didn't stop there. He said that when we stand praying, we have to do something. What do we have to do? Forgive! If we have ought against anyone, we have to forgive.

Prayer and faith won't work when there is an air of unforgiveness about you! And unforgiveness is what has so many people stymied in their faith and their prayer life. Can you see that?

Faith in your prayer life won't work unless you are a forgiving person. So when you stand praying, forgive. In fact, have you ever thought about it? Sometimes it takes faith just to forgive! But it will hinder your prayer life if you don't forgive.

Source: Love: The Way To Victory
by Kenneth E. Hagin.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications